Friday, September 12, 2008

Ball of Confusion

Original Link: http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09/11/ball-of-confusion/

By dcmediagirl

I had an interesting conversation today with a Democratic member of Congress who called to chat about the campaign.

This man is someone I’m proud to call a friend. He’s a serious person and a great patriot with a wicked sense of humor. He’s not a buffoon, a bot or a tool. He’s a staunch defender of women’s rights and civil liberties. He’s willing to put his ass on the line and take positions that are controversial and unpopular. He’s a stirrer of some very bubbly pots. He doesn’t vote “present” or find something more pressing to do when it’s time for him to stand up and be counted. In short, he’s a great, great guy and an example of what Democrats should be.

The poor man is also very confused.

How is it possible, he asked, that things are so fucked up for the Dems? And what in the world are women thinking? What’s with this mass migration of white women to the Republican ticket? What about the courts? Roe v. Wade? WTF?

Because I respect and like this man I took the time to roll out the explanation. If you want to know why women are so angry, I told him, I suggest you stroll down to the DNC and have a chat with Howard Dean. Ask him why, as the head of the party, he didn’t issue a strong statement condemning the media’s sexist treatment of Hillary Clinton during the primary season and demand that they cease and desist immediately. Ask him why the party dragged the Florida and Michigan situation out so long that the Democrats lost all credibility on the issue of enfranchisement. Ask him why he didn’t demand that the outrageous accusations of racism leveled against the Clintons - by members of the Democratic party - halt. Ask him why he allowed his surrogates to go on television and attack Hillary Clinton, a fellow Democrat? And while you’re asking questions, Congressman, ask your colleagues in the House and Senate why they were so hellbent on pushing Hillary Clinton out of the race before the final votes were counted at the end of the cycle.

In short, ask why the Democrats have fucked things up so egregiously that they’ve allowed Republicans to take the high road on enfranchisement and respect for women running for higher office, thereby alienating the Democratic base? Howard Dean has close ties to the netroots. Why didn’t he do a conference call and try to dissuade them from pushing grotesque conspiracy theories on their blogs, starting with a revival of the Vince Foster canard?

How on earth can the Democrats demand that voters buy a faulty product being peddled by an incompetently managed organization? If the party is willing to betray its own, how can it be trusted to represent the rank and file?

He listened. He wasn’t happy, but he listened.

Eventually, when it’s too late, they’ll all have to listen.

No comments: